Thursday, January 19, 2023

Friday Flies: Hollow Fleye by Pat Kelly


After a brief jungle hiatus (thank you covid) we finally made it back down to the Brazilian Rainforest. It's really difficult to sum up a trip like this using words and until you go yourself, you realize no words can do this fishery, environment, and indigenous people justice. Although Mad River Outfitters has been traveling down to Brazil for twenty years every trip seems like the first. There is always something unique and different about the fish depending on your location and water levels. One of the few constants are a few of the flies that have been consistent producers year after year. In this edition of Friday Flies we are showcasing the Bucktail Hollow Fleye. This "fleye" is the brain child of the one and only Bob Popovics. One of fly fishing's greatest of all time, not only as a teacher and contributor but as an all around exceptional human being. I am fully confident there is not a more simple but complex fly in all of fly tying. Anyone who has attempted to tie one of these flies can vouch for that! In its purest form it is simply bucktail and a hook, which is one of the reasons this fly and bucktail in general became my first true obsession in fly tying. Taking something so simple and turning it into something so spectacular really resonates with me. I've have been blessed with the opportunity to go down to Brazil several times and have fished dozens and dozens of different flies, made of both natural and synthetic materials and the Hollow Fleye takes the cake for me. If you haven't tied one then be sure to check out the step by step below and see the link to our YouTube Channel to watch our full feature video on the Hollow Fleye. It's nowhere near as good as Bob could do but he approved and that's good enough for me!     

Step 1: Place hook in the vise and lay down a base of thread from front to back.


Step 2: Select a long bundle of bucktail, approximately 4-5 times the length of the hook shank. Tie in and secure so that your thread is hanging just behind the barb.


Step 3: Take a generous helping of flashabou, fold over thread and tie in directly above the tie in point for the tail. Ideally the longer section of flash should extend about 1/2-1 inch beyond the tail, providing more flash and movement to the tail. It is better to be generous with the flash as you can always cut it out if you feel it is not wanted by the fish.  


Step 4: Select your next bundle of hair. Be careful not to select too much, less is more! You'll want this section of hair to be approximately 75% of the length of the tail section. 


Step 5 wide: Once you have carefully measured your hair length, tie in so the tips of the bucktail are facing forwards. Make three loose capturing wraps around the butts. Take your thumb and fore finger and spread hair 360 degrees evenly around the hook shank and secure with tightening thread wraps.


Step 6: Using a push tool (empty pen casing works great) slide over the eye of the hook and up against the bucktail. Push the hair so that it is all facing rearward.


Step 7: Using your material hand, capture and hold down the hair while you lay down a dollop of 
Z-Ment and begin to build your thread dam. This dam will be the biggest (tallest) as you want the bucktail to lay at a pretty flat angle. The time to build height, shoulders, and shape will be in the coming sections. I can not stress enough to reinforce every step with super glue as it will prevent your fly from prematurely falling victim to Peacock Bass or any of the other countless predators swimming around the Amazon. 


Step 8: Just as in step 5, select another bundle of hair. This time you want your bundle to have a little more hair than the previous section. You'll want this hair to be approximately 80% of the previous section. You will follow this pattern/formula for the remainder of the way up the hook shank. The angle of each cone of bucktail should get progressively steeper as you move forward. This is what will bring shape and taper to your Hollow Fleye.


Step 9: Repeat step number 5 two more times. At this point you will have three hollow ties of white bucktail. 

I like to tie in grizzly accent feathers down each side of the fly. This step is a great way to add  contrast and depth to the the fly. Not only does this step make the fly look sexier but you will obviously catch way more fish compared to a fly with no accent feathers!


Step 10: At this point we are ready to tie in our last cone of bucktail. Just as before, tie in hair facing forward out over the eye of the hook. Secure butt ends with three loose wraps and spread hair evenly around the hook shank. Secure with strong tightening wraps and add another dollop of Z-Ment. Bring your thread through and in front of the bucktail and begin building your thread dam. Remember this dam will be the shortest of them all as you want to angle of this bucktail to be the steepest of all. Once finished, apply a generous amount of Z-Ment or UV resin to the thread head for durability.



The head can be any color you want. I have found having a bright contrasting color at the head not only triggers more Peacock's but will close the deal more often than if the fly is all one color.


If you have any questions in regards to tying this fly don't forget to watch this YouTube video as it will go into much greater detail than this article. Also, do not hesitate to call the shop if you want to speak to one of us directly.

Recipe: 
Cement: Z-Ment




   



Posted by at
Labels: , ,